The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire-that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny-with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

I picked Marked up completely on a whim. I mean I have heard that this series is extremely incredible in the beginning and then it get's kind of boring and just not good anymore, so I don't really know what I am in for. Because I have heard things such as that about this series, I expected to not even really like the first book... like, at all. But I read it, and I absolutely loved it!

Basically, Zoey lives in a world where everyone still goes to school and goes about their daily business, but everyone knows about the vampyres. They pretty much are all famous people because they are so talented. It's really pretty cool. One day at school, Zoey gets marked by a vampyre, meaning that she's getting sick and if she doesn't go to the House of Night, which is a vampyre school, then she will die. So of course she has to up and leave her school and all of her friends as well as her family, to go to this school. The only problem is that her mom and step-father are completely against her becoming a vampyre, mainly because they are too worried about what other people will think about them. They'd rather she stayed at home and died than she go to school and become a vampyre and cause talk around the family friends.

Knowing that her parents aren't okay with this and knowing that she does not want to die, Zoey goes to her grandmother's house. Her grandma, of course, brings her to the school so she can get better and go through the vampyre training until she becomes a full vampyre adult, since right now she is just a fledgling.

In the vampyre world, everyone prays and looks up to the goddess Nyx. When she goes to her grandmother's house, Zoey happens to black out for a while. During her black out, Zoey actually talks to the Goddess Nyx.... turns out that Zoey is special. She has a destiny and she's also one of the only fledglings to ever have her Mark get really dark and filled in so quickly. Her mark is right on her forehead, so of course everyone can see it and everyone at school stares at it, wondering how it ended up the way it is.

Everyone at the House of Night has a mentor that they can learn skills from, and Zoey ends up having a high priestess be hers, which doesn't happen often because this particular priestess doesn't always take fledglings under her wing, which just proves to others even more that Zoey Redbird is a special one. She's just really lucky. At this school, Zoey rooms with Stevie Rae who is a really funny girl with a southern accent. They are best friends with Damien, who is just so incredibly awesome. I absolutely loved their friendships.

During her first day at school, Zoey ends up witnessing something go down between Erik Night and Aphrodite, who are two of the most popular kids at the school. Erik and Aphrodite broke up a while ago and Erik is so done with her, though Aphrodite keeps coming back to Erik because she still wants him, though Erik keeps turning her down, and Zoey witnesses this. Throughout the book, Erik ends up becoming one of Zoey's best friends while Aphrodite slowly becomes one of her worst enemies.

I really loved this book because it was really different from other vampyre books. There's just so many ways that vampyre worlds can go, and so far this one is my favorite. It's just so interesting and I loved how they had a goddess that they actually prayed to. I also loved the friendships between all the characters, as well as Zoey's ambition. She's usually not one to go about and do what she wants so I loved that she slowly evolved into this girl who did. She knew what she had to do to make the world a better place and she did it, without fail. She's definitely one of my new favorite heroines. I can't wait to continue on and read the rest of this series!

Notable quotes:

The problem, of course, was that turning into a monster was the brighter of my two choices. Choice Number 1: I turn into a vampyre, which equals a monster in just about a human's mind. Choice Number 2: My body rejects the Change and I die. Forever.
So the good news is that I wouldn't have to take the geometry test tomorrow.

Recommended for fans of:
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
The show Teen Wolf on MTV
The show Vampire Diaries on the CW
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Rating:

Have you read this novel or any of the other books in this series? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Holy crap! I've been blogging for almost two years now... it's been a whole 23 months! That's absolutely insane because I feel like just yesterday I started blogging in the first place. Boy how time flies! Anyway, onto what I read this month and such!

Books Read:
Plague by Michael Grant
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
Amity by Micol Ostow
Mercy Mode by Em Garner
Oblivion by Sasha Dawn
Dream Boy by Madelyn Rosenberg and Mary Crockett
Just Like the Movies by Kelly Fiore
Black and White by Malorie Blackman
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

To Be Read for July:
One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington
The Dare by Hannah Jayne
The Young World by Chris Weitz
All Those Broken Angels by Peter Adam Salomon
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
The Trap by Andrew Fukuda
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Any other books I want to read!

Favorite Book of the Month:
Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Favorites in each genre:Dystopian Black and White by Malorie BlackmanParanormal Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin CastFantasy Otherbound by Corinne DuyvisContemporary Just Like the Movies by Kelly FioreScience Fiction Mercy Mode by Em Garner

Favorite Cover of the Month:

Favorite Characters of the MonthMale Callum from Black & White by Malorie Blackman or Nolan from Otherbound by Corinne DuyvisFemale Zoey Redbird from Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Favorite Setting of the Month:
I'd definitely have to choose the world from Otherbound, because there was an Earth setting but there was also an amazing fantasy realm that was filled with so many hidden secrets.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she was devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

Since it's summer, I decided that it was about time I picked up a contemporary book, so I decided to read some Sarah Dessen! I've only read one book by Sarah Dessen: Just Listen. I read it a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, just as I thought this novel was pretty good as well.

Basically, this book is about the friendship between Halley and Scarlett. When they were about 11, Halley moved to Scarlett's town and she lived right across the street. The day that she was moving in, she met Scarlett and they had been friends ever since. Scarlett and Halley are kind of opposites, as in Scarlett is really outgoing and is good at making friends and getting boyfriends and everything while Halley is the complete and utter opposite. She's never had a boyfriend and she pretty much only has one friend: Scarlett.

For the entire summer, Scarlett had been dating a guy named Michael. He was a guy that everyone loved, though he was with Scarlett. She really, truly liked him a lot, and he really liked her. One day while Halley is at summer camp, she gets a call from Scarlett and she says that Michael Sherwood died in a motorcycle accident. Of course, Halley being the best friend that she is, completely leaves camp and comes to console Scarlett. A few months later they find that Scarlett is pregnant with Michael's child.

Michael had a best friend and his name was Macon. He knew Scarlett, so they were friends. At one point, Scarlett introduces him to Halley and they end up dating, so Halley finally gets her first boyfriend.

I absolutely love how this book was mainly about friendship rather than the relationships that the girls had. It was solely about the relationship between Scarlett and Halley. I really liked Macon and Halley's relationship too once it started, though Macon really started to get on my nerves! Halley was absolutely crazy about him though Macon definitely could have tried a bit harder. In the end, I did enjoy this book.

Notable Quotes:

"Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend."

"You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lose your way in the first place."

"You can't just turn your heart off like a faucet; you have to go to the source and dry it out, drop by drop."

Recommended for fans of:
Contemporary novels!Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Title: Just Like the MoviesAuthor: Kelly FiorePublisher: Walker Books for Young ReadersRelease Date: July 22, 2014Source: Publisher for ReviewEdition: eARC (300 pages)

Genre: Contemporary

Pretty and popular track star Marijke Monti is confident about almost everything-she's got great friends, a great family, and she's on her way to the State Track Championship. In fact, the only thing Marijke isn't confident about is her relationship with Tommy Lawson.
Lily Spencer has spent her entire high school career planning for the future-she's participated in every extracurricular activity and volunteer committee she could. But, at home, she watches her mother go on date after date with dud-dudes, still searching for "the one". Lily realizes that she's about to graduate and still hasn't even had a boyfriend.
While they live on each other's periphery at school, Lily and Marijke never seemed to have much in common; but, after a coincidental meeting at the movie theater, Lily gets an idea- why can't life be like a movie? Why can't they set up their perfect romantic situations, just in time for their senior prom, using movie techniques?
Once the girls come up with the perfect plans, they commit themselves to being secret cohorts and, just like the movies, drama ensues.

Marijke and Lily are complete opposites. While Marijke is popular and has a boyfriend that every other girl at the school would die for, Lily doesn't really have any friends and spends most of her time volunteering or babysitting. After running into each other at the movies, the both of them begin talking and decided that there's no reason for life not to be like the movies. They decide to try to each get a guy to ask them out to prom by using all these gestures used in movies, such as Say Something.
Marijke already has a boyfriend: Tommy. Everyone at their school flirts with Tommy because they absolutely love him. Tommy doesn't flirt back, though Marijke has a hard time trusting him because everyone likes him so much. Tommy is really devoted to her, though. Tommy hasn't asked Marijke to prom yet, and she is really into the big, grand promposals, so of course she decides to go along with the idea that she and Lily come up with. Marijke also is a track star, which is just another reason why she is so popular.

Lily doesn't have a boyfriend and she doesn't even really have any friends for that matter, so when she and Marijke begin to get close as friends she has a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that someone may actually want to be friends with her. Lily is kind of skeptical of love because her mother has had her heart broken so many times, and she always goes out on dates and leaves Lily at home to babysit. Lily has a crush on Joe, who is really into biking. She will do anything to win his heart over, even if it means embarrassing herself in the process.

I absolutely loved Just Like the Movies. I'm not the biggest contemporary fan, though there was just something about this one that made me really want to read it. I think it was the whole movie aspect of this-it was really interesting how the girls would use scenes from movies and then act them out to try to win a guy's heart so they could get dates to prom. I also liked how this book was about more than just love; it was about the friendship that Marijke and Lily began to have as the story went on. I loved how the girls were always there for each other and they had a really close bond, it was just so heart-warming. I'd definitely suggest this book if you are looking for a fun summer read!

I was bred to be the perfect pet. I was bred for my beauty and grace, to be a showpiece, an ornament to sit upon the couch, to sing, to dance, to play the piano and paint. I was bred to willingly put my owner's happiness before my own.
Until Penn. The handsome and rebellious son of the congressman who owns me, he's the only person who's seen past my perfect exterior to the girl underneath. Falling for him is forbidden. Falling for him is freeing.
But there's a dark underworld lurking beneath my pampered life. The only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn's family is escaping it, because if I fail, I face a fate far worse than death...
For fans of Kiera Cass's Selection series and Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, as well as a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous-and dangerous- bow.

Lisa McMann's Dead to You meets Kate Ellison's The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery.
One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours. All she knows is that her father, the reverend at the Church of the Holy Promise, is missing, as is Hannah, a young girl from the parish. Their disappearances have to be connected and Callie knows that her father was not a righteous man.
Since that fateful night, she's been plagued by graphomania-- an unending and debilitating compulsion to write. The words that flow from Callie's mind and through her pen don't seem to make sense-- until now.
As the anniversary of Hannah's vanishing approaches, more words and memories bubble to the surface and a new guy in school might be the key to putting together the puzzle. But digging up the secrets she's buried for so long might be her biggest mistake.

Thank you to EgmontUSA for letting me read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Oblivion was such an interesting read. The reader follows Callie, a girl who's father disappeared the same night as her best friend did. Nobody is sure if they were killed or murdered or what; all they know is that they both disappeared and that Callie was there when it happened. They also know that Callie can't remember at all what happened that night. When Callie was found, they saw that the walls were covered with the words "I KILLED HIM." Everyone is pretty sure that it wasn't Callie that did this and that she is just traumatized by what really happened.

Ever since that night, Callie writes nonstop. Most of the time the things that she writes are part of memories that may trigger something that will help explain what exactly happened that night, but it takes a while to put all of the little pieces together and finally figure out what exactly did happen.

Since Callie has nobody to live with, she lives with foster parents. She's currently living with Lindsay and her family. Lindsay is practically a real sister to Callie. Lindsay has the biggest crush on this guy named John, so she has Callie help write letters to him, which is practically only Callie writing and then Lindsay taking the credit.

Callie's boyfriend, Elijah, isn't really much of a boyfriend in my opinion. Yeah, they do things together, but he isn't always there for her that much. The one who's really there for her is John, even though Lindsay has a thing for him. John is so sweet to Callie, though he finds everything that Callie writes to be really poetic and lyrical, so helps her piece together the things that she writes. He even keeps an extra pen in her favorite color in his pocket at all times for when she needs one, since the urge hits her so suddenly.

I really loved learning about graphomania because I honestly didn't know much about it. It was really interesting to learn about. I also enjoyed how this book wasn't predictable at all; I had no idea what was going to happen or where the clues were going to lead to next. I can't say this often about mystery books, so I absolutely loved that. My favorite character would have to be John, just because of how sweet he was. Though I enjoyed this book, I was a bit bored at times because at some parts I felt like the story wasn't really going anywhere, though I'd definitely recommend this book to people who are looking for a creepy mystery.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.Things I Like:The Color BlueAwesome Fonts!When the entire series has matching coversBright ColorsA beautiful picture, or even just words on the coverThings I Dislike:The series not matchingA girl in a dress (this is so overused!)Boring colorsA Close up of a FaceModels that don't even look like the characters in the bookWhat things do you like or dislike on book covers?

Monday, June 23, 2014

For fans of Stephen King and American Horror Story, a gruesome thriller suggested by the events off the Amityville Horror.
Connor's family moves to Amity to escape shady business deals. Ten years later, Gwen's family moves to Amity for a fresh start after she's recovered from a psychotic break.
But something is not right about this seduced house. Connor's nights are plagued with gore-filled dreams of demons and destruction. Dreams he kind of likes. Gwen has lurid visions of corpses that aren't there and bleeding blisters that disappear in the blink of an eye. She knows Amity is evil and she must get her family out, but who would ever believe her?
Amity isn't just a house. She is a living force, bent on manipulating her inhabitants to her twisted will. She will use Connor and Gwen to bring about a bloody end as she's done before. As she'll do it again.
Alternating between parallel narratives, Amity is a tense and terrifying tale suggested by true-crime events that will satisfy even the most demanding horror fan.

Thank you to EgmontUSA for giving me a copy to read and review!

Amity follows two families: Connor's and Gwen's.

Connor's family moved to Amity because of a business deal that his father had. As soon as they move to the new house, Connor's mother hangs up a sign that says "Amity" on it, thus how the house got it's name. As soon as Connor got to the house, he knew it was different. He didn't know what it was, exactly, but he felt like Amity was a part of him.. or he was a part of it. The thing is, ever since Connor was younger, he knew that there was something different about him. He didn't find things creepy or scary at all. Connor was completely okay with bad things happening. They made him feel alive.

Connor's twin sister, Julianne, also moved with them. She's pretty much the complete polar opposite of Connor. She's really sweet and nice and does not seem to feel the same things as Connor does about Amity at first, even though they're twins.

Gwen lives ten years later but she also moves to Amity with her family. She can also tell that something is up with the house as soon as she moves there. I mean she's honestly the only one in her family who seems to realize how creepy the house really is. I mean if a creepy house doesn't scream get out then I don't know what does. Plus her family got the house for a really cheap price and it's not small at all. Of course something must be up!

I hadn't read a creepy book in a long time so I was really excited to get the chance to read this one. It was really creepy and I loved how the book was told in two different point of views, which were set ten years apart. It was interesting because their lives intertwined a lot, even though they were ten years apart they were experiencing really similar events thanks to Amity.This book reminded me of the good old days when I used to always read Goosebumps. I also loved how there were historical events tied into the story that I didn't even see coming until the end. There was also major supernatural elements pulled in which was really cool! I'd definitely suggest giving this book a read sometime!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell. The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking of the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied-it seems-to this house, this street, this town.I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.All I know is that the present and the past are piling up and I am here to dig. I am looking for the things that are buried.From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Armchair travel! Tell us about your favorite book in a setting you'd like to visit (a real place for this question).
I've always wanted to go to England just because I think that would be so amazing and fun; there'd be so many things I'd like to see! So I'll have to choose the Harry Potter books, because when Harry is with the Dursley's he is in England.

I prefer GFC and Bloglovin', though Twitter, Linky, and Feedburner are okay too. Thanks for stopping by!

If you follow me, be sure to tell me in the comments and I will follow back!

They've survived hunger. They've survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach.

But enemies in the FAYZ don't just fade away, and in the quiet, deadly things are are stirring, mutating, and finding their way free. The Darkness has found its way into the mind of its Nemesis at last and is controlling it through a haze of delirium and confusion. A highly contagious, fatal illness spreads at an alarming rate. Sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. And Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they'll escape-or even survive-life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love?

In the fourth installment of the Gone series, so much happens. The main focus of this book, is, of course, a plague that gets spread all over the FAYZ. This plague isn't just any plague-Lana can't even help people survive this. If you get this plague, you basically get really sick and you end up coughing up tons of blood, until eventually you end up coughing up your insides, which is really nasty and gross, but then again, it's the FAYZ and everything unexpected will pretty much happen.

Lana gets called in to help with the sickness, though she finds out pretty quickly that she can't even help anyone, which makes her feel pretty useless. Lana can usually help just about anyone, except this time.

There's also a shortage of water while this plague is being spread around, so Sam and his crew all get together and go on a hunt to find tons of water because Albert believes there may be some somewhere else. They go on their trek and end up finding some water, but they also find this other place where there's a train filled with tons of boxes... boxes of Nutella, Pepsi, and even computers and missiles! They also find a guy named Toto, who claims that he had been there before the FAYZ had started. He says that doctors had been watching him and another girl because they seemed to have some sort of powers. Toto's power is truth-telling. Yes, he is Toto the Truth Teller. Toto's a bit insane, though. Probably from being locked up away from everyone else and eating Nutella for days. His best friend is a Spider-man cutout who he refers to as 'Spidey'.

Sam and Astrid had broken up, so Astrid pretty much spends the entire book looking after Petey. The council had pretty much gone to crap, so she had nothing else to really do and she never really wanted to be involved in the Council anyway. Caine is still on the island with Penny and Diana. They have running warm water and movies and popcorn. They're pretty much living the good life, and Caine sorta becomes a better person while he's there. He is of course my favorite character still. Yes, I like him even more than Sam.

Anyway, after this ending... I just need to get my hands on the last book and read it. And then I'll have to read Light. I just need to know how this series ends! So much has happened! This is definitely one of my favorite series, if not my favorite. If you haven't started this series and read any of the awesomeness by Michael Grant, I highly suggest you do so immediately!

Recommended for fans of:The Maze Runner by James DashnerThe Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned.
Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she's here. No one can here her scream.
Sofia Flores knows she shouldn't have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn't realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.
Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn-but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can't go against the other girls... unless she wants to be next...
In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?